


let me get back to you (2:00 a.m.)

by tarothearted



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, Meet-Cute, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, god forbid i write anything good ever, if you read this i'm sorry its long, most relationships are mentioned only in passing and i'm sorry!!, providing u with background yuwin content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-10 17:07:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20531537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarothearted/pseuds/tarothearted
Summary: it's 2 a.m., its raining, and you're incredibly tired. sometimes the rain brings you exactly what you need, and its come in the form of a goofy man with the most contagious laugh you've ever heard.





	let me get back to you (2:00 a.m.)

**Author's Note:**

> depression eat your heart out baybe!! i wrote this in bits and pieces as best i could y'all i hope you like it! i tried. if dialogue is in all italics, its in Korean btw! SVT doesn't make too big of an appearance except in passing but fellow carats babey i love u

Who thought your suffocating room in your shared apartment would have you turn out to walking in the rain, at two in the morning? Ah, right,  _ you did _ . The essay you’d had been assigned in Art History was sitting unfinished, laptop screen shut after saving on six and a half pages when you needed ten, the need to pace and  _ move  _ shoving you out of your chair half-awake. College sucked.  _ This _ sucked. To be up this late was an atrocity to your sleep pattern-especially after the shift you had at the university's bookstore, God forbid  _ any _ of your coworkers be able to stay on task for more than five minutes. Damn you, silly men. Oh well. It wasn't boring, but absolutely tedious. You sighed, pulling yourself out of your own thoughts long enough to make sure you look both ways before you cross the street.

You’d been wise enough to pull a sweatshirt on before you left the stifling atmosphere of your shared apartment, your one insomniac roommate tossing it to you before you left, calling after you to not get sick. _ Ah, Hansol _ . Always there when you forgot something. You’d have to thank him when you got back to the apartment, probably with something from the 7/11 up the way.

With Hansol’s sweatshirt on, hood pulled up, earbuds in your ears, you wandered through the dimly lit streets as the water gently rained down on you. It was just warm enough that you weren’t likely to catch a cold, but it still wasn’t entirely wise for you to be out there.  _ Eh _ , who was going to judge you? It was  _ two in the morning _ , what poor unlucky soul would also be out here with you in this weather?

Somebody, apparently, that was rather solid, considering in your current state of being, you’d ran _right_ into them. Before you could fully slip and fall onto the pavement beneath you, there were warm, panicked movements that brought you hard into the person’s chest. You're still on the wet pavement, half cradled by the person who'd caught you. You sniff, and sleepily peak up at them, an apology half-formed on your lips when you look up at your brick wall/savior’s face. You blink. He’s _pretty_, boyishly cute in a way that rivaled Hansol (in _your_ opinion, anyways), certainly shorter than them yet taller than you, but he _certainly _looks rightly confused and concerned right now. 

“Are you alright?” He asks, and you blink again, shaking your head in affirmation. 

“Yeah, I am. Sorry_, not all here right now_,” you say, slowly, having difficulty answering him in the correct language. You remember where you are at that exact moment as well, warmth seeping into the both of you, and you jolt away from him. He tilts his head at you, watching how you move as you pull away, how you shove your hands into the pocket of Hansol’s sweatshirt when you rise up from the wet ground. There’s a smile on his face while you do this, a nervous chuckle emanating from him, and you have to break eye contact with him. Men were stupid-you knew this first hand, considering the antics your roommates got up to with their friend group. 

You then realize he'd spoken in English to you in the first place, and your face burns red in embarrassment. He's fully upright now, as you turn to look at him again, the light from the nearest lamppost throwing shadows and highlights across his face in a way that gives you pause. He's very,  _ very _ pretty. Pretty boy bastards always seem to get you, huh?"

"You sure?" He asks, tilting his head. "You don't seem like you're all here right now, no offense. He looks concerned.  _ How sweet _ . 

You sigh, and shake your head. "No, its ...its fine. Tired, that's all. Little procrastination things, y'know?" You yawn into your sweater-covered hands as you finish your sentence, and the boy laughs at you, softly. 

"No, I know what you mean. You, uh, you want coffee? I'll buy." He asks, and you're caught in between saying yes to the cute stranger or hightailing it out of there in case he's a serial killer or something. With your luck, he probably is. Eh, you thought the same thing when you met Hansol and Shua's friends, what's the worst thing that could happen here? Plus, it looks like he goes to the same university as you.  _ Score _ .

"...Sure, since you're buying. I'm Bunny," you say, gesturing for him to lead the way, a soft smile settling on your face. His own lights up, a wide smile on his face as he seems to recognize your given nickname. Not many people knew your birth name beyond professors and your roommates, but your nickname was decently known after you helped Hansol during one of the school showcases. 

"Hey, you're in a class with Johnny! I'm Mark Lee," he says, visibly excited. It's infectious really, and your smile widens too. Johnny was tall, loud, charismatic, and an excellent seat mate-though it helps you two were the only American-born people in that class. The two of you had ended up sitting next to each other two semesters in a row now in your dreaded math classes, and he was really the only reason you hadn't bounced your skull off the back of the seat in front of yours. He'd spoken about Mark before, actually, along with the rest of his group of friends, but beyond meeting Mark now, the only other ones you knew were far and few between the whole group of twenty-one. A young man named Renjun in your Art History class, a very kind man named Sicheng who sat with you at the close-to-campus coffee shop and talked with you about his very sweet barista boyfriend, Chenle, the sweetest boy you'd ever met, who helped with the bakery portion of the shop in the morning, and the night manager of said coffee shop, Taeyong, who'd usually let you have a drink or two for free in exchange for a bit of help with his English. You both knew he could always ask Johnny or someone else, but it made you feel good when he asked.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Mark. John speaks  _ highly _ of you," you say, giving him a sly smile. "And I mean, that, by the way. He's always talking about you guys when we're supposed to be paying attention, it's a wonder either of us are passing." You both laugh at that, walking and talking as he leads you to a small twenty-four hour coffee shop a few blocks down the road. 

He pauses in front of it and does a weird grand gesture towards the sign. "Welcome to Neo City Coffee!" The smile on Mark's face makes you laugh a little harder than the unnecessary gesturing, but it's  _ endearing _ . You'd been here before-it's where you'd let Sicheng wax poetic about Yuta while waiting for your croissant from the sweet faced baby of the store- but the look on his face was  _ too _ cute, and you were too tired to let him know. He pulled the door open with a dorky sweeping gesture for you to go first, and you do, laughing as you pat him on the shoulder softly. 

Neo City Coffee wasn't as modern as you'd expected it to be from the name. The interior is soft, neutral toned, tables and little booths spread around the small shop, some with people, but most without, plants all over the place. A man with a sharp jawline you recognize as the teacher's aide for your little 'fun' extra class is behind the counter, cleaning a few mugs. 

"Yo, Taeyong!" Mark calls from behind you as the two of you walk up. The man in question turns at his name, an eyebrow raised at the sight of the currently semi-soaked people in front of him. 

" _ Mark, did you forget an umbrella again? _ " He asks, a small smile on his as Mark blanches for a moment, winking at you. It was funny to watch him tease the boys. You snicker, and let your gaze drift up to the menu board. You squint up at it, rocking back and forth on your heels as you begin to realize you forgot your glasses back at the apartment. Mark nudges you after a few moments, having ordered for himself after getting clowned on by his elder. 

"Hm?" You asked softly, tilting your head towards him while keeping your gaze up on the board, words still a little too out of focus no matter how hard you squint. You can hear Taeyong let out a breath of laughter, before he taps the counter to get your attention.

" _ And you forgot your glasses? Bunny, come on, you know better than to go wandering around without them. _ " He says, an ounce of mirth in his words as you flush and shrug.

" _ Oh, you know, I wasn't thinking. Hard pressed to be doing that when Renjunnie reminded me earlier about the essay in Art History that's due in a few hours now, and I just uh... _ uh…" You trail off as you realize Mark is looking between you and Taeyong with a look of utter surprise, like somehow he thought you  _ wouldn't  _ have come here despite it being on the way to campus.  _ Dork _ . He's speaking rapidly, hands moving around alot, and a very excited smile growing on his face. You knew the boy was excitable from the way Johnny and Taeyong and even  _ Sicheng  _ spoke of him, but actually  _ seeing _ it? Was melting your heart. _ Eat your heart out, Chwe Hansol _ you thought to yourself, specifically about the proclaimed ‘ _ ice queen _ ’ title he’d given you. Bastard wasn’t getting his snacks  _ now _ , now that you actually think about it. Well, maybe he was. 

You zoned back into the conversation when you realized they’d mentioned your name, and a warm cup was shoved into your grasp by Taeyong with a smug grin on his face. Mark laughs as you roll your eyes at him, but there’s a smile plastered to your face regardless. “ _ Thanks, Tae. On the house or am I-we, paying? _ ” You asked softly, already reaching into your back pocket to pull your wallet out. He takes a moment to think about it, and you’ve already pulled out the correct amount of won when he shakes his head no. You level a  _ look _ at him, holding the change out for your- _ and Mark’s _ -drink. Taeyong gives you a look of his own, but takes the money from you regardless.    
  
“ _ I’ll tell Chenle your next croissant is free, alright? _ ” Taeyong says, as he puts the won away in the cash register. You nod and give him a thumbs up, a small victorious smile on your face, as Mark about bursts with another bout of laughter. You pat him on the shoulder as you turn away from the counter and head to the little booth you and Sicheng usually occupied in the morning, tucked away in a corner that still allowed you a view of the counter. All you two were ever really there for was Sicheng’s daily dose of Yuta’s smile, that was your running joke with him, though you know that was  _ mostly  _ the reason. The other being the discount you got going there, and the sweet little smile of your soft pastry boy certainly kept you coming back. Regardless of the fact you were a foreigner, and still had a pretty difficult time reading hangul and speaking Korean, Chenle still ended up calling you ‘ _ Bun-Noona _ ’, which was adorable, despite barely being older than him. You had gotten after him for it the first few times he used it, after three months into your freshman year of college and your second month of coming to Neo.

Mark sits down next to you, instead of opposite you. Sicheng did that too, now that you thought about it, but he did that to smile at Yuta while also allowing you to slump over onto his shoulder and munch on your croissant. You look at him, raising an eyebrow, before taking a sip of your drink. You almost snorted at the taste, and chuckled to yourself.

  
“What’s so funny?” Marks asks, a questioning look on his face, sipping from his own.    
  
“Nothing,” you say, shaking your head, “it's just that Tae knows me too well. He gave me hot chocolate, not coffee.” To be fair, your class tomorrow-today- was fairly early, and he was the aide in there, so it made sense that he’d take care of you like this.  _ Soft bastard _ , you thought to yourself as you glanced over to where he should be standing. He was currently giving the softest look to a person you knew to be his girlfriend, who had her earbuds in, head bobbing to whatever music was currently playing with an intense look in her eye. You two had met before, and you knew she was the nicest person you’d ever met- _ besides _ Seungkwan’s girlfriend, of course. The three of you made up a very nice trio when you went to brunch together every first and third Sunday of the month, enough so that all the boys you knew and loved knew  _ not  _ to fuck with your schedules. The three of you would rant as much as needed and talk about your majors and the assholes you all dealt with at your jobs. It was ...cathartic, to say the least.

Mark taps your nose gently, to regain your attention, and you startle slightly, looking over at him with wide eyes. He has to set his drink down fully to laugh at your reaction, and you grow red in the face, huffing as you pout.    
  
“You sure you’re all here right now, Bon? I could’ve walked you back, you know,” he said, after he quieted down. Sure, he could’ve, you would’ve let him, but where is the fun in that, as Johnny would likely have told you if you were telling him about this. He’d be right, of course. Unfortunately  _ and  _ fortunately for you, he usually was.    
  
“No, I’m alright. I just...ah, think a lot? There’s a lot of bouncing up in here, right now,” you say as you tap your forehead gently. “It’s not every day I meet some of my friends’ best friend, right? They  _ never  _ said you were this cute either, I’m a little mad.” He flushes at that, and you smile to yourself as you take another drink. Actually, they  _ had  _ told you he was cute. John even showed you pictures when you asked. The lack of your glasses was probably why you didn’t recognize him at first, but it’s fine,  _ right _ ?

“T-they told me, about you,” he says, after a few moments of silence between you two. “Johnny talks about you sometimes, although Sicheng does more.”  _ That  _ surprised you.

“What does Sicheng say about me?” You ask, softly. Mark’s brow furrows for a moment, as he thinks, then he looks at you.   
  
“A lot of nice things. He says you’re really patient when Chenle’s having a rough morning and forgets your croissant for a while until you remind him. That you're patient with him when he struggles to find the right words, and that you started learning some Mandarin for him and the boys to make is easier. He described you as…caring, stubborn, and tired?" He pauses, and you sit there, sipping your drink as you let his words sink in. You didn't know Sicheng thought about you like that, nor that he ever talked about you. Johnny did, sure, you knew that much. The boy liked to talk and you were something interesting, sure. 

"Oh! Passionate! That too," he suddenly exclaims, making you jump in your seat. "Renjun's showed me how you write, Bon. You have a real way with words, y'know? Could write lyrics if you really wanted too." He smiles, all soft and sweet, just for you. You flush pink, in response, setting your cup down and burying your face in your hands out of embarrassment. Mark's laugh fills your ears once again, and it's safe to say that could  _ easily _ become your favorite sound in the whole world. His hands come up to your shoulders, and he pulls you into him, hugging you softly to him. 

"Mark, shut uuuuup," you whine into your hands, embarrassed that he'd even seen  _ any _ of your writing. You were going to kill Renjun. Well, maybe after the semester was over, he reminded you of the homework and you two helped each other  _ always _ .

"No! I won't!" He laughed out, and you can feel his body shaking with his laughter and it is the  _ cutest thing _ . You gently smack at his shoulder, refusing to resurface from the warmth that was his shoulder, and after a while, you adjust yourself a little so the two of you can sit comfortably like that. He keeps an arm around you, as the two of you chat quietly and drink your respective drinks. You think, maybe this was too easy to get used to this fast, but reasonably, it makes sense. You click together, two puzzles pieces that had been missing from a bigger jigsaw puzzle. You both knew enough of each other from your respective friends, and actually meeting each other felt like seeing the other for the second time, not the first.

It was  _ really _ nice.

Once the two of you finish your drinks,  _ and _ finish giving Taeyong shit for kissing his girlfriend before she left to go back to their apartment, the two of you are walking together in the slow drizzle of rain. It's barely coming down now, but you still feel the soft, barely there touches of water gracing your hair and face. Your shoulders are touching as you walk, and the two of you end up at the very same place you'd collided into each other. Mark smiles nervously over at you, fiddling with his hands as you both look at each other.

You start first. "John uh...gave me your number, a while ago." He looks surprised at that, and confused. 

"Then why haven't you…?"

"I was too anxious, alright? I hadn't...met you yet. For real. Just what everyone else had said about you. I have a hard time speaking to people as it is, and talking to someone out of the blue is...really hard," you say, looking at anything  _ but _ his face. He lets out a soft ' _ ah _ ' at that confession, and reaches over to you, pats you gently on the shoulder. 

"It's okay," he says, and you look at him again. Mark's smiling softly at you, something like understanding in his eyes, and despite forcing yourself into the uncomfortable moment of being seen as a person. Was this the reward people were talking about when they subjected themselves to the vulnerable state of being known? Was this the beginning of love?

Was this too much to hope for based off of one interaction?

Absolutely. 

Were you going to anyways?  _ Of course. _

"...Thank you. For understanding.  _ Oh _ , and for running into me. Probably the best two a.m. walk I could've asked for," you say, with a sheepish grin on your face. Mark's smile widens at that, and he laughs, pulling you into a hug. It's warm, and God forbid you felt  _ safe _ . How weak were you that all it took was one hot chocolate and a laugh that could make the sun shine brighter to get  _ you _ whipped?

Pretty fuckin' weak, apparently. 

After the two of you pull away, you stare at him for a few moments, before you step back and wave a little. "Come by Neo in the morning, yeah? By 8:30, or you'll miss the Sicheng and Yuta show."

Mark nods, smiling at you and waving as well. "I'll be there, yeah. Wouldn't miss that for the world."

The smile on your face hurts your cheeks as you carry the 7/11 bag laden with snacks for Hansol and Jisoo into your apartment. You toe off your shoes at the front door, and set the bag down quietly on the kitchen counter.

And then you launched yourself onto the couch to curl up and tell a half-awake Hansol, Jisoo, and a surprise Seungkwan about what occurred. Hansol pet your hair as you spoke, half-aware of what was happening, and Seungkwan straight up ended up falling asleep with his head on Hansol's shoulder and his hands holding yours. Hansol tells you he'd come by a few minutes after you'd left, having gotten off of work really late, and that he'd been too tired to ask his sweetheart for a ride home. Your shared apartment was the closest place, apparently. You shush his soft mumbling after a while with a look. The four of you stay that way on the couch, eventually succumbing to sleep.

You don't find out Mark had texted you until you wake up at 7:30 in the morning, exhausted, but content, half sprawled across the boys, Jisoo half on top of you, Seungkwan's hands still clasped in yours.

_ Apparently _ , Johnny had given him your number too.

That bastard always  _ was _ right, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> this was. super self indulgent and totally didn't take me weeks to finish because motivation sucketh. sucketh my dick. anywho, if you finished the whole thing, thank u for taking the time to read this!! i might write another one, or an extension of this to include Haechan because god who would i be if i didn't right. stan nct stan seventeen and stan roty ateez thats all goodnight ilu xoxoxo


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